Improvement in railway switches



'iiuiirri sti-atte aient (titille,

'Letters Patent No. 107,113, dated September 6, 1870.

' IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY SWITCHES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the sama To all whom tt 'may concern;

'Be it known that I, CHARLES S. Sirrrn, of Seneca Falls, county of- Seneca and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Railroad Switches;l and I do hereby declare the following' to be a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawing making a part ot' this specification, in which- Figure 1 is atop view ot' my invention 5 Figure 2 is a side view, showing the two opposite ends, partly in vertical section Figure 3 isa cross-section ot' that partot` iig. l through the line y y and Figure 4, a cross-section ot iig. l, through the linea: x.

The nature of my invention consists in the method of attachment oi' the switch-rails to certain levers, the adjustment ot' springs thereto and securing the rails in their proper position.

@To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The main rails A A A A are attached to the ties and sleepers of the road-bed in the usual manneizas are also the siding-rails A A.

Theswitch-rails A A a're pivoted to the tie B', as shown in g. 1, the opposite ends of said rails being llowed to rest upon and move. freely upon the tie Between the switch-rails A" A is placed a bedplate, H H, upon and wit-hin which the mechanism, by which said rails are moved and secured, is placed.

Thesliding bar D D' is composed-of two parts, and jointed at'k, and is so constructed that the. switchrails may be littedinto the tar, resting in,slots cnt in thesame, and conforming in shape somewhat to the flanges and web of the rails; this switch-bar is operated by means of a lever, j, the bot-tom of which is secured to a block, D, (or in any other suitable man ner,) and said lever passes through a mortise or slot of the jointed part of the bar D; within the bar D is secured the coiled spring g, and a groove is made in the plate H, conforming to the shape and' length of said spring, to allow aneasyand free move-4 ment of the saine, as seen in g. 4.

t W hen the switch-rails A A" arc in line with the main rails A A, (the same being the through or main track,) the lever f, being drawn toward the direction of the arrow, iig. 1, will cause the switch-rails A A to come into line with the siding-rails'A A', and, by 'releasing said lever f, the power and force oi' the spri'n g yg-willrcansel the switch-raiis'AfA" -to return again to ltheirfalignment with themain track A A. It therefore becomes necessary to provide a means ot' groove,ibrmed`on the bar D, that' comes in contact4 with the rib formed on the lever C, between the two grooves, shown in iig. 3, and this arrangement in fig. 1.

-. yholds the switch-rails in their proper position, as seen The lever C is connected with and-.pivoted to a series ot' levers 'contained within the bo.; J', being levers 1 2 3', seen in fig. 2, and said lever O is also connected with the joint M, pivoted'to the level' C' atm, and connected with the lever C" by means of lover 71., 'which latter` is pivoted centrally upon the cross-tie B', as seen in tig. 1.

- The lever Cf isvconnectcd to a series ot' levers, 1 2` 3, contained within the box J, and are the connterparts of the levers to which the lever C is attached; and tb thc levers 1 and 1 are attached thev levers 11 anelli",-

In order to securel the Vswitch-rails A" A, when in line with the main track A A, I employ another system of leve`rs,springs, andstops, as follows:

The lever b is .secured to thebottom ot the piece E' that forms 'a part of the bed-plate, and is connected with the lever c, (which is pivoted at d, on the piece E',) by means ot' the arm c', and at the opposite end ot' said lever c is pivoted a shaft or rod,

0; having secured upon it the coiled spring e, and a l head, p': This shaft plays in a groove formed upon the bed-plate H, and, when the bar D is released from the position shown in lfig. 1, and the .switch-.rails A A are i`n line with the main track rails, the head p', by

vmeans ot' the spring e, is forced into the socket p upon the bar D, so that the bar 1) `cannot then be moved without withdrawing ,the head p', by operating the lever b, with whichit is connected, in the manner hereinbefore described. v 1

E is a foot-treadle orlever that is attached to a shaft, a, that passes through the piece E', and the opposite end oi' this shaft is connected with an arm or lever that is pivoted to the lever C', and, by means of the joint M, to lever C. By means of this connection, if it is desired to change the switch-rails from the siding to the main track, all that is necessary is to place the foot upon the right side of the treaille E, which causes the lever C to be released from its contact with the rib on thebar D, and allowing the switchrails to be forced, by 'means of' the spring g, into the .desired position. Aleven li, may bela'pplied to the shaft a to operate the saine in lien of or in' addition Y to the treadle E.

lt will be noticed that when the switch-rails are in line with the siding-rails A' A the levers F F are raised above the tops ot' the rails, so that `a locomotive going in either direction, by means of suit-able rods or rollers attached to the same, can, by depressing; them, operate the switch automatically. Thus, it' a locomotive is desired to pass along the main track it will, when approaching the lever F, cause the wheelrod, or other suitable device, to bein-ought in contact with said lever,-and the line of the main track remains` unbroken by thus operating and moving the switch-rails; and if', fromthe same Vdirection, itis desired to pass upon the siding, the wheel-rod, or other device, is raised, so as not to come in contact with the lever F.

N N are sides formingr a box, if desired, containing,r within it the levers c', c", 71,850., which can be covered, in order to prevent dirt or snow from coming in con tact with the same.

The plate H H can also be covered in the same manner, it' desire-d.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

its several parts, and operated in the'manner and for the purpose herein described.

2. 'lhe combination ot' the lever C andthe bar D, constructed and arranged t0 lock the rails A" A and hold them firmly in position, in the manne-r and for the purpose herein described.

3. The combination, of the. treadle E and shaft a with the lever G', joint M, lever G, and levers F' l' 2 3', in the manner and for the purpose herein described.

CHARLES S, SMITH.

lVitnesses G. H. WERD, JACOB H. Gom..

1. A railway switch. constructed and arranged in' 

